The findings of the GenY Survey 2011-’12 are indeed an eye-opener. They are a pointer to how the younger generation in cities use Internet-enabled mobile phones, laptops and tablets to keep themselves abreast of happenings in the world. Though the database is limited to 12,300 high school students in 12 cities, the trends are indeed unambiguous. If television was the most popular medium of information and entertainment for the youth a decade ago, today’s youth get the same from their mobile phones. In Mumbai, 98.77 per cent of the respondents had mobile phones, a majority of which were Internet-enabled.
Chatting, surfing and SMSing are ways in which the students remain in touch with one another, not only to strengthen their personal relationships but also to broaden their knowledge. They also use it for academic purposes. Of course, every coin has two sides and it is for the parents and teachers to guide the youth on how best the new technology can be used for educational purposes. On its part, the government can use the large network of students and youth for its educational and public awareness campaigns at a fraction of the cost it would have otherwise incurred. All it needs is imagination to use the new technology to reach millions of youth.
Instead, the government has been wasting its energy and time on finding ways to control the Internet. The IT (Intermediaries Regulation) Rules 2011, under the IT Act 2008, are a case in point. What provoked it to raise its finger against sites like Facebook and Orkut was not the public interest but the personal grievances when some political leaders were lampooned on such media. Incidentally, the Information Technology industry was able to get off the ground only because there was no Act to control it. Otherwise, the babus would have made mincemeat of the fledgling industry. Taking a cue from this, the government should allow the Internet to flourish.
